Chart Watch: Grammy ratings are down, but Bruno and Kesha’s sales are up

Music critics may be grumbling about Bruno Mars’s Grammy sweep, and the Grammy telecast may have experienced a 23 percent ratings dip this year, but the awards are giving his Album of the Year winner, 24K Magic, a sales boost. The album, which has been out for more than 14 months, is expected to jump from No. 10 to No. 3 on next week’s Billboard 200 album chart; that would be its highest ranking since last March. Its overall weekly “consumption” total — a blend of traditional sales, digital track sales, and streaming — is expected to jump from 26K to about 51K, a gain of 98 percent.

24K Magic is currently No. 2 at both iTunes and Amazon (behind The Greatest Showman soundtrack). Mars won in all six Grammy categories in which he was nominated, including the coveted “Big Three” — Album, Record, and Song of the Year. He also performed his new single, “Finesse,” a collab with rapper Cardi B, on the broadcast. That song is No. 4 on iTunes list of current bestsellers. Mars’s Record of the Year winner “24K Magic” is No. 11, while his Song of the Year winner “That’s What I Like” is No. 15.

You may be surprised to learn that Mars’s 24K Magic never quite reached No. 1; it debuted at No. 2 in December 2016. 24K Magic has logged a total of four weeks in the runner-up slot, behind four different No. 1 albums — Metallica’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, Pentatonix’s A Pentatonix Christmas, the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, and Future’s self-titled release.

Kesha may have lost in the two categories in which she was nominated this year, but she still came out a winner. Nielsen Social reports that there were 41.5 million total interactions across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about the Grammys, and the most social moment occurred at 9:37 p.m. ET, with 42K interactions, as fans tweeted about Kesha’s #TimesUp-themed “Praying” performance. “Praying” ranks No. 5 on the iTunes list of current best-selling songs.

Other notable post-Grammy iTunes stats: Little Big Town’s “Better Man” is No. 10; “Despacito” is No. 12; and “The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey, which was heard during the broadcast as an extended commercial for Target, is at No. 2.

Nielsen Music, on which the Billboard 200 is based, reports that other songs performed on the Grammys collectively registered a 328 percent gain in download sales in the U.S. on the day of the show, compared to the previous day. Among the biggest gainers: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” which grew from 3K to 10K sold (up 263 percent); Kesha’s “Praying,” which zoomed from 1K to 9K sold (up 720 percent); Little Big Town’s “Better Man,” which zipped from less than 1K sold to 7K sold (up 2,166 percent); Logic’s “1-800-273-8355” featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid, which climbed from 1K to 5K sold (up 436 percent); and P!nk’s “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,” which went from negligible sales to 5K sold.

Several other albums are likely to see Grammy-related sales spikes on next week’s Billboard 200. Look forLuis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee’s to move up from No. 6 to No. 5. Lamar won five Grammys (matching his haul from two years ago) and opened the show with a fierce performance that featured U2’s Bono and the Edge. Khalid’s American Teen is set to rebound from No. 15 to No. 8; SZA’s Ctrl. will rebound from No. 22 to No. 12; Chris Stapleton’s From A Room: Volume 2 will shoot from No. 55 to No. 18; and P!nk’s Beautiful Trauma will jump from No. 43 to No. 22. (These projected rankings are approximate.) Khalid, SZA, Stapleton, and P!nk also performed at the Grammys. Stapleton also won three awards in the country field, though Khalid, SZA, and P!nk were shut out.

Top Albums

In regular chart news, Fall Out Boy has landed its fourth No. 1 album — and its third in a row — as MANIA enters the Billboard 200 at No. 1. The group previously topped the chart with Infinity on High (2007), Save Rock and Roll (2013), and American Beauty/American Psycho (2015). Fall Out Boy is the first rock band to reach No. 1 with three consecutive studio albums since Arcade Fire, who scored with The Suburbs (2010), Reflektor (2013), and Everything Now (2017).

The Greatest Showman soundtrack holds at No. 2 in its seventh week. It spent two weeks at No. 1. The Greatest Showman logs its fifth week at No. 1 on Top Soundtracks. It spends its third week at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.

Ed Sheeran’s ÷ holds at No. 3 in its 47th week. The album spent its first two weeks at No. 1. Camila Cabello’s Camila drops from No. 1 to No. 4 in its second week. Post Malone’s Stoney dips from its No. 4 peak to No. 5 in its 59th week. Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. inches up from No. 7 to No. 6 in its 41st week. The album spent four weeks at No. 1. G-Eazy’s The Beautiful & Damned dips from No. 6 to No. 7 in its sixth week. The album debuted and peaked at No. 3. Lil Uzi Vert’s Luv Is Rage 2 inches up from No. 9 to No. 8 in its 22nd week. The album debuted at No. 1. Taylor Swift’s Reputation drops from No. 5 to No. 9 in its 11th week. The album spent four weeks at No. 1.

Two albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Eminem’s Revival drops from No. 8 to No. 14. Lil Skies’s Life of a Dark Rose drops from No. 10 to No. 12. Revival spent its first five weeks in the top 10. All of Eminem’s previous major-label studio albums had longer runs in the top 10 before they fell out.

Kidz Bop 37 debuts at No. 16. The first Kidz Bop album to crack the top 20 was Kidz Bop 3, back in 2003. LANCO’s debut album, Hallelujah Nights, opens at No. 20. The album enters Top Country Albums at No. 1, displacing another debut album, Kane Brown’s Kane Brown. Hallelujah Nights is the first debut album by a group or duo to top the country chart since Dan + Shay’s Where It All Began in April 2014. The album’s lead single, “Greatest Love Story,” topped Hot Country Songs for one week in December.

Def Leppard’s 1987 album Hysteria reenters the chart at No. 39. It logged six weeks at No. 1. It also re-enters Top Catalog Albums at No. 1. It displaces the Cranberries’ Stars: The Best of 1992-2002, which surged in the wake of the death two weeks ago of lead singer Dolores O’Riordan.

Drake’s “God’s Plan” enters the Hot 100 at No. 1. It’s the first single to enter the chart in the top spot since another hip-hop smash, DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One” (featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne), achieved the feat nine months ago. “God’s Plan” is Drake’s fourth No. 1 hit on the Hot 100, but his first to debut at No. 1. Drake’s smash sold 127K digital copies in its first week, which allows it to enter Top Digital Songs at No. 1. It’s Drake’s eighth No. 1 on that chart. “God’s Plan” also enters Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at No. 1. It’s Drake’s 17th No. 1 on that chart. It enters the Official U.K. Singles Chart at No. 1. It’s Drake’s third No. 1 in the U.K., following “What’s My Name?” and “One Dance.”

A second Drake song, “Diplomatic Immunity,” enters the Hot 100 at No. 7. This marks the second time that Drake has debuted in the top 10 with two songs in the same week. He also did this last April with “Passionfruit” and “Portland” (featuring Quavo and Travis Scott). Ed Sheeran is the only other artist to debut in the top 10 with two songs in the same week — and he did it only once (with “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill” in January 2017). These two hits bring Drake’s total of top 10 hits to 22, which enables him to pass Jay-Z as the rapper with the most top 10s. Jay-Z has had 21 top 10 hits. The rest of the top five consists of Lil Wayne (20), Ludacris (18), and Eminem (17).

Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” holds at No. 2 in its 22nd week. The song logged six weeks at No. 1. Camila Cabello’s “Havana” (featuring Young Thug) drops from No. 1 to No. 3 in its 24th week. The song tops the 1 million mark in digital sales this week. Post Malone’s “Rockstar” (featuring 21 Savage) dips from No. 3 to No. 4 in its 19th week. The song has been in the top five the entire time. It spent eight weeks at No. 1. Bruno Mars and Cardi B’s “Finesse” dips from No. 4 to No. 5 in its fourth week. It has climbed as high as No. 3.

Halsey’s “Bad at Love” dips from its No. 5 peak to No. 6 in its 21st week. Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” holds at No. 8 in its 26th week. The song spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart last August. Imagine Dragons’ “Thunder” drops from No. 6 to No. 9 in its 39th week. It peaked at No. 4. “Thunder” logs its 13th week at No. 1 on Top Rock Songs. G-Eazy’s “No Limit” (featuring A$AP Rocky & Cardi B) drops from No. 7 to No. 10 in its 20th week. It peaked at No. 4. Sam Smith’s “Too Good at Goodbyes” and “Motorsport,” a collabo by Migos, Nicki Minaj & Cardi B, drop out of the top 10 this week.

Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line’s “Meant to Be” logs its ninth week at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs. That’s the longest run at No. 1 in the history of the chart for a collaboration by two acts who don’t regularly record together. The old record was held by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett, whose “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” topped the chart for eight weeks in 2003.